A new fish species is discovered and scientifically named

1. *Corresponding author e-mail: mathewsplamoottil@gmail.com, Mobile: + 91 9447059690
International Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology ISSN (Print) : 2320-9577
Volume 3, Issue 3, pp: 226-231, 2015 ISSN (Online): 2320-9585
http://www.ijpaz.com Rishan Publications
Research Article
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PUNTIUS DOLICHOPTERUS, A NEW FISH SPECIES
(CYPRINIFORMES: CYPRINIDAE), FROM KERALA, INDIA
Mathews Plamoottil
Department of Zoology, Government College,
Chavara-691583, Kollam District, Kerala, India
Article History: Received 24th
April 2015; Accepted 15th
June 2015; Published 16th
July 2015
ABSTRACT
Puntius dolichopterus, a new species of the family cyprinidae, is described from a freshwater stream at
Kayamkulam of Kerala, India. It is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters:
Dorsal fin short and located a little behind the ventral fin origin; third dorsal ray osseous, rigid and strong,
its spinous portion longer, 51.2- 52.2 % HL; pectoral fin long and reaches pelvic fin origin; pelvic fin
extends to vent; lateral line scales 23- 24 + 1- 2; pre dorsal scales 8; 3- 4 longitudinal lines present below lateral
line; a narrow and short depression present on occiput. The new species is compared with its closely related
species.
Keywords: Taxonomy, New species, Cyprinids, Puntius viridis, Puntius nigronotus.
INTRODUCTION
The Asian cyprinid genus Puntius was created by
Hamilton (1822) based on his collections from
River Ganges; but it was without any type
designation; moreover Hamilton placed some
species under Cyprinus and some others under
Puntius. His Cyprinus sophore is now considered
as the type species of the genus Puntius. There
had been great inconsistency and confusion in
adopting the names Barbus Cuvier or Puntius
Hamilton. Jayaram (1991) in his revision of
genus Puntius, considered Barbus Cuvier,
Cyprinus Hamilton, Capoeta Valenciennes,
Hypselobarbus, Gonoproktopterus, Hemibarbus,
Barbodes and Cyclocheilichthys of Bleeker and
Systomus McClelland as synonyms of Puntius.
Pethiyagoda et al. (2012) and Pethiyagoda (2013)
recognized Puntius and Systomus as separate
genera; they also created three more new genera
Dawkinsia, Haludaria and Pethia from the genus
Puntius.
The present species described from
Kayamkulam of Kerala, India has been assigned
to Puntius and herein described as Puntius
dolichopterus, new species.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Measurements were made point to point with dial
calipers and data recorded to tenths of a
millimeter. Counts and measurements were made
on the left side of specimens. Subunits of the
head are presented as proportions of head length
(HL). Head length and measurements of body
parts are given as proportions of standard length
(SL). Methods used are those of Jayaram (2002).
Distance between two fins or between fin and
vent is taken from the origin of the fin.
Abbreviations used: ZSI/ANRC- Zoological
Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional
Centre at Port Blair; ZSI- Zoological Survey of
India, Kolkata; ZSI/ WGRC- Zoological Survey
of India, Western Ghats Regional Centre,
Calicut; ZSI/ SRC- Zoological Survey of India,
Southern Regional Centre, Tamil Nadu; CRG-
SAC- Conservation Research Group, St. Albert’s
College, Cochin; DAV- Distance from anal to
vent; HD- Head depth; DCP- Depth of caudal
peduncle; LCP- Length of caudal peduncle.

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227
PUNTIUS DOLICHOPTERUS, SP. NOV.
(Figures 1& 2 and Table 1)
Type materials examined
Holotype: ZSI/ANRC-12226, 68 mm SL,
Kayamkulam, Kerala, India, coll. Mathews
Plamoottil, 21.08. 2014. Paratypes: ZSI/ANRC-
12227, 5 specimens, 57.0 - 63.5 mm SL,
Kayamkulam,, Kerala, India, coll. Mathews
Plamoottil, 21.08. 2014.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Diagnosis: Puntius dolichopterus can be
distinguished from its congeners in having longer
head, 30.0- 34.6 % SL, operculum extends out
beyond pectoral fin base as a soft membranous
flap, 8 pre dorsal scales, 23- 24 + 1- 2 lateral line
scales, short dorsal fin located behind ventral fin
origin, third dorsal ray osseous, rigid and strong,
its spinous portion longer, 51.2- 52.2 % HL; an
elongated pectoral fin reaches pelvic fin and
pelvic fin reaches vent, 3- 4 longitudinal lines
present below lateral line and a narrow and short
depression present on occiput.
Description: General body shape and
appearance shown in Figures 1 & 2.
Morphometric data as in Table 1. Body laterally
compressed; dorsal profile more convex than
ventral profile; region from pre dorsum to
occiput convex, after sinking down very slightly
goes straight to snout tip; post dorsal region
slightly concave. Eyes situated considerably
behind and above the angle of jaws and not seen
from below ventral side; upper margin of orbit
reaches dorsal profile of head; nostrils situated
nearer to eyes than to snout tip and enclosed in a
short but prominent tube; a short and distinct
depression present on occiput. Jaws unequal,
upper jaw longer and broader than lower jaw;
barbels one pair maxillary only, shorter than
orbit, feeble and reaches lower border of eyes,
never reach nostrils; mouth sub terminal, slightly
upturned and protruding; gape greater than inter
narial distance; operculum rigid and moderately
hard, extends beyond pectoral fin base out as a
soft membranous flap. Dorsal fin originates
considerably behind the pectoral tip and a little
behind the ventral origin, upper margin fairly
concave; dorsal fin with three simple and 8
branched rays; first ray very minute, soft and
seemingly absent, commonly fused to second ray
which is slightly osseous; third ray osseous, rigid
and strong, its spinous portion longer, 51.2- 52.2
% of head length; tip filamentous; filamentous
portion as long as eye diameter; inner and outer
margins of the spine smooth; base of third dorsal
ray wide and forms 23.4- 25.0 % ED; last dorsal
ray branched to root and so considered as one.
Pectoral fin with one simple and 14 branched
rays; pectoral tip reaches ventral fin origin;
ventral fin originates just in front of dorsal, with
one simple and 8 branched rays; its tip never
reaches anal fin origin, but reaching the vent; two
auxiliary scales present on either side of base of
ventral, one above the other, of this the upper one
soft and delicate, lower one more fleshy. Anal
fin originates a little behind the end of ventral
fin, with three simple and 5 branched rays; it is
roughly rectangular, outer margin fairly concave,
tip not reaches caudal base; no prominent ridge
on the base of anal; no considerable distance in
between anal fin origin and vent; first anal ray
small; last anal ray divided to root. Caudal fin
with19 rays; its lobes equal. Lateral line
complete with 23- 24 scales, 1- 2 scales at the
base of caudal fin; scales relatively large, easily
deciduous and clearly countable; scales on the
breast region with same size to other scales. Pre
dorsal scales 8; pre pelvic scales 6- 7; pre anal
scales 13- 14; circum peduncular scales 10;
scales between lateral line and dorsal fin ½ 4 ½;
scales between lateral line and ventral fin 3 ½;
scales between lateral line and anal fin 3 ½ - 4 ½.
Coloration: Body silvery; dorsal fin light orange
red; pectoral and anal fin greenish yellow;
ventral fin yellow; caudal fin dusky; minute
black spots present on operculum; a diffuse,
inconspicuous dusky spot present on 21 and 22
scales.
Distribution: Currently known only from the
type locality in Kerala.
Etymology: The specific epithet ‘dolichopterus’
was taken from two Greek words ‘dolikhos’
meaning elongated and ‘pteron’ meaning wing or
fin refers to elongated pectoral fin.

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228
Table 1. Morphometric characters of Puntius dolichopterus (n= 6).
Measurement Holotype (HT) Range (HT included) Mean SD
Total Length (mm) 87 73.0- 87.0 81.2 4.6
Standard Length (mm) 68 57. 0- 68.0 62.9 3.5
Head length (mm) 20.5 19.0 – 21.8 19.8 1.1
Percent of standard length
Head length 30.1 30.0- 34.6 31.7 1.9
Head depth 22.8 22.2– 25.4 23.7 1.3
Head width 16.9 14.3– 16.9 15.6 0.9
Body depth at dorsal origin 32.4 31.7– 35.7 32.9 1.5
Body depth at anal origin 22.9 21.7– 24.6 23.4 1.1
Body width at dorsal origin 16.2 14.2– 17.5 15.8 1.3
Body width at anal origin 11.9 10.6– 13.2 11.7 0.9
Pre occipital distance 22.1 19.8– 22.3 21.4 1.0
Distance from occiput to dorsal front 29.4 27.0– 31.7 29.9 1.6
Pre-dorsal length 51.5 50.4– 53.9 51.8 1.3
Post-dorsal length 51.5 50.4–53.9 51.8 1.3
Pre-pectoral length 31.6 30.1– 31.7 30.8 0.7
Pre-pelvic length 48.5 48.5– 51.6 49.8 1.2
Pre-anal length 72.1 71.9– 74.9 73.2 1.3
Length of dorsal fin 22.0 19.2– 22.0 20.7 0.8
Length of pectoral fin 21.3 20.2– 22.2 20.9 0.7
Length of pelvic fin 20.6 20.5– 22.8 21.2 0.9
Length of anal fin 16.5 16.5– 20.5 18.1 1.6
Length of base of dorsal fin 19.8 18.7– 20.6 19.6 0.8
Length of base of anal 10.3 8.7– 11.1 10.3 0.8
Length of caudal peduncle 20.6 2.8– 4.4 19.1 1.2
Depth of caudal peduncle 13.2 11.9– 13.7 13.1 0.7
DCP/ LCP 64.3 68.2– 79.1 74.3 4.5
Width of caudal peduncle 8.8 6.3– 8.8 7.5 0.9
Distance from pectoral to pelvic 19.6 19.0 – 21.9 20.3 0.9
Distance from pelvic to anal 24.6. 23.6– 26.2 25.0 0.9
Distance from anal to caudal 30.1 26.9– 31.7 28.6 1.9
Distance from anal to vent 1.5 1.3– 1.8 22.2 1.3
Distance from ventral to vent 20.6 20.6– 23.9 1.6 0.2
Percent of head length
Head depth 75.6 67.9– 80.0 73.1 5.1
Head width 56.1 41.3– 52.6 48.3 4.7
Eye diameter 24.4 24.4– 32.1 27.8 3.2
Inter orbital width 40.5 26.3–32.6 28.3 2.9
Inter narial width 20.0 20.0– 22.1 20.9 0.9
Snout length 29.3 22.1– 29.3 26.9 3.3
Gape width 24.4 21.0 –24.4 22.0 1.5
Length of maxillary barbel 12.5 10.0 – 14.6 12.6 1.9
Pre occipital distance 73..2 64.2– 73.2 67.7 3.6
Distance from occiput to dorsal 97.6 92.1–105.3 98.5 4.8
Head length excluding snout 70.0 68.4– 78.9 72.7 4.6

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229
Figure 1. A fresh specimen of Puntius dolichopterus, Holotype, ZSI/ANRC-12226
Figure 2. A preserved specimen of Puntius dolichopterus, Paratype, ZSI/ANRC-12227
Comparisons: Puntius dolichopterus shows
similarity to Puntius nigronotus, P. viridis, P.
nelsoni, P. parrah and P. madhusoodani
described from rivers of Kerala, Puntius dorsalis
described from tanks and rivers in the
neighborhood of Chennai and Puntius chola and
P. sophore described from Ganges River.
Puntius dolichopterus differs from P. nigronotus
Plamoottil (2014) in having 8 pre dorsal scales
(vs. 11 in P. nigronotus), 23- 24 + 1–2 lateral
line scales (vs. 25+2), 8 branched rays in dorsal
fin (vs. 9) and 5 branched rays in anal fin (vs. 6).
The new species differs from Puntius viridis
Plamoottil & Abraham (2014) in having 8 pre
dorsal scales (vs. 9 in P. viridis), dorsal fin
devoid of distinct black spots (vs. a row of
elongated black spots present), a diffuse spot (vs.
deep black blotch) present on caudal base, third
undivided dorsal ray strong (vs. not much strong)
and vent located nearer to anal fin DAV 1.3- 1.8
(vs. vent located away from anal front, DAV 2.6-
4.1 % SL). Puntius dolichopterus can be
distinguished from Puntius nelsoni Plamoottil
(2014) in having 8 pre dorsal scales (vs. 9),
elongated pectoral fin (20.2- 22.2 % SL vs. 17.3-
18.4) reaches ventral fin (vs. not reaches), ventral
fin with 8 branched rays (vs. 7) and 3- 4
longitudinal lines present below lateral line (vs.
absent) and a longer (30.0- 34.6 % SL vs. 25.7-
26.7) and flatter (HD 67.9 - 80.0 % HL vs. 89.3-
96.2) head. Puntius dolichopterus differs from
Puntius parrah (Day, 1865, 1878, 1889) in
having an elongated pectoral fin (20.2- 22.2 %
SL vs. 17.6- 19.8 in P. parrah) reaches ventral
fin (vs. not reaching), ventral fin tip reaches vent
(vs. not reaching), a distinct depression present at

5. Mathews Plamoottil Int. J. Pure Appl. Zool., 3(3): 226-231, 2015
230
the occiput (vs. absent), 3- 4 longitudinal lines
present below lateral line (vs. absent) and a short
space present between anal fin origin and vent
(vs. lacking). Puntius dolichopterus is
distinguished from P. dorsalis (Jerdon, 1849) in
having 3½ scales present between lateral line
and ventral fin (vs. 2½ scales in Puntius
dorsalis), shorter snout (22.1- 29.3 % HL vs.
31.8- 37.1), 8 pre dorsal scales (vs. 9) and in
lacking (vs. bearing) any color spot on dorsal fin
base. Puntius dolichopterus differs from P.
madhusoodani Kumar et al., (2011) in having 8
pre dorsal scales (vs. 9 in P. madhusoodani), 8
branched rays in dorsal fin (vs. 7), 5 branched
rays in anal fin (vs. 6) and shorter dorsal fin
(19.2- 22.0 % SL vs. 25.2- 28.7). The new
species differs from Puntius chola (Hamilton,
1822) in the presence of 3- 4 longitudinal lines
below lateral line (vs. absent in P. chola), long
pectoral fin reaches (vs. not reaching) ventral fin,
inconspicuous caudal spot (vs. conspicuous), 8
pre dorsal scales (vs. 9) and 10 circmpedumcular
scales (vs. 11- 12). Unlike to the present fish, a
black spot present (vs. absent) at the base of
dorsal fin in P. chola. Puntius dolichopterus
differs from Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822)
and P. stigma (Valenciennes, 1844) in lacking
black spot on the base of dorsal fin (vs. deep
black spot present) and in possessing (vs.
lacking) barbels. Puntius dolichopterus differs
from P. mahecola ((Valenciennes, 1844) in
having 23-24 (vs. 22) lateral line scales, 3½ (vs.
2½ ) scales between lateral line and ventral fin
and last undivided dorsal fin ray osseous, rigid
and strong (vs. feebly ossified and flexible).
Conclusions: Puntius dolichopterus is an edible
fish consumed by the local people living nearby.
As it is beautiful, it can also be utilized as an
ornamental fish. As it was collected from a
polluted water channel flowing through the heart
of the Kayamkulam city, it is considered to
survive in some extent to contaminated water
bodies also.
Comparative materials examined: Puntius
nelsoni: Holotype: ZSI/WGRC/IR/2353, 91 mm
SL, Kallumkal, Manimala River, Kerala, India,
9°20’0’’N, 76°30’0’’E, coll. Mathews
Plamoottil, 21.08.2011; paratypes: ZSI/ WGRC/
IR/ 2354, 3 examples, 81- 84 mm SL, Kallumkal,
Manimala River, Kerala, India, 9°20’0’’N,
76°30’0’’E, coll. Mathews Plamoottil,
21.08.2011. Puntius nigronotus: Holotype: ZSI
FF 5285, 82.3 mm SL, India: Kerala,
Mananthavady River, Wayanad, coll. Mathews
Plamoottil, 01. 01. 2012. Puntius viridis:
Holotype, ZSI/ WGRC/IR/2382, 81 mm SL,
Kallumkal, Manimala River, Kerala, India,
9°20’0’’N, 76°30’0’’E, coll. Mathews
Plamoottil, 21.08.2011; paratypes, ZSI/ WGRC/
IR/2383, 5 examples, 72- 76 mm SL, Kallumkal,
Manimala River, Kerala, India, 9°20’0’’N,
76°30’0’’E, coll. Mathews Plamoottil,
21.08.2011; ZSI FF 4932, 2 examples, 63- 74
mm SL, Manimala River at Kallumkal, Kerala,
coll. Mathews Plamoottil, 10. 10. 2012.
Puntius madhusoodani: Holotype, CRG-SAC
456, 91.4 mm SL, Manimala River, near
Thirumoolapuram, Thiruvalla, Kerala, , coll. K.
Krishnakumar; 17.11.2010; paratypes, CRG-
SAC 457 – 459, 3 examples, 67.6 - 80.9 mm SL,
Manimala River, near Thirumoolapuram,
Thiruvalla, Pattanamthitta District, coll. K.
Krishnakumar and Benno Pereira, 17.11.2010.
Puntius parrah: ZSI/F 2718, Syntype, 1
example, Kariavannoor River, Kerala, coll.
Francis Day, undated; ZSI FF 4934, Topotypes,
4 examples, 65.5- 78.0 mm SL, Arattupuzha,
Karavannoor River, Iringalakuda, Kerala, coll.
Mathews Plamoottil, 10.01. 2012. Puntius chola:
ZSI/F 2203, 1 example, 41.5 mm SL, Soni Gaon
Bheel, Lokpa, Batipara, Assam, coll. S.L. Hora;
08.11.1939; ZSI/F/2804/2, 2 examples, 32.5- 55
mm SL, Raxanal, Bihar, coll. Keval Singh,
18.03.1958. Puntius dorsalis: ZSI/F 2730, 1
example, Madras, coll. Francis Day, undated;
ZSI/F 2801, 1 example, 53 mm SL, Usteri tank, 7
miles north west of Pondicherry, coll. A.G.K.
Menon; 11.02. 58; ZSI/SRC/F 4954, 2 examples,
52- 53 mm SL, Sethumadai canal, Indira Gandhi
Wild Life sanctuary, Tamil nadu, coll. M.B.
Reghunathan, 16.02. 1996. Puntius sophore: ZSI
FF 4938, 2 examples, 58- 59 mm SL, Ganges
River, Serrampore, West Bengal, Coll. Mathews
Plamoottil, 10.05.2012. Puntius stigma: PCMP
35, 5 examples, 72- 86 mm SL, Trichur, coll.
Mathews Plamoottil, 10. 02.2010. Puntius
mahecola: PCMP 40, 7 examples, 70- 87 mm
SL, Thiruvalla, coll. Mathews Plamoottil.
20.01.2011.

6. Mathews Plamoottil Int. J. Pure Appl. Zool., 3(3): 226-231, 2015
231
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful to the Principal, Baby John
Memorial Govt. College, Chavara, Kerala, for
facilities provided. I thank Dr. M. Arunachalam
and an anonymous reviewer for comments that
helped improve the manuscript.
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